hard before saying, “I’m here.”
“Yes, but I wish you were here.”
She shook her head. “That’s not a good idea.”
“Your opinion and not mine.”
“We all have opinions.”
“Yes, and we all have the capability of getting a good night’s sleep. At least some of us do.”
She lifted her eyebrows. Was he having trouble sleeping as well? “Try counting sheep.”
“I tried that and it didn’t work. Any more suggestions?”
She pulled herself up in bed and relaxed against the huge pillow. “We could talk.”
“About what?”
“Anything you want to talk about—except what happened this afternoon.”
There was a pause, and then he said, “Okay, fair enough. I’ll let you choose the topic.”
“All right. Tell me about Marcus. Whenever I ask Tiffany about him the only words she can fix her mouth to say are, ‘Oh, he’s simply wonderful.’”
Chance chuckled. “Hey, I’m the kid’s father. Doyou expect me to admit to any of his flaws? If she thinks he’s wonderful, then who am I to disagree?”
“Be serious, Chance.”
Evidently there was something he sensed in her voice that let him know she needed to know about Marcus before actually meeting him on Sunday.
“On a scale of one to ten with ten being exceptional, I’ll give Marcus a nine. He isn’t perfect but for the past sixteen years he has been a son any father would be proud to claim. He’s smart, and he’s also sensitive, something he inherited from his mother. Cyndi was a warm, loving and sensitive person.”
The undisguised love she heard in his voice let her know that he had cared for his wife very much. “How old was Marcus when his mother died?”
“He was nine and he took her death hard. Thankfully, he had my parents, Cyndi’s parents and my brothers and cousins. Still, there were times when I worried about him. I made Cyndi a promise the day before she died that I would do everything within my power to make sure that Marcus had all the opportunities that we either didn’t have or didn’t take advantage of, especially when it came to college.”
She nodded. No wonder he was so intense about his son staying focused to get into a good university.
“Marcus knew of his mother’s dreams for him and after she died it was as if he was trying to honor her memory by doing everything that she’d wanted. He was always at the top of his class, and I never had to remind him to do homework. He tried so hard to please me because I think in his mind, pleasing me meant pleasing his mom as well.”
“And then here comes Miss Tiffany….”
Chance chuckled again and in her mind she could actually see a smile lighting up his eyes. “Ahh, yes, here comes Miss Tiffany. But before Tiffany came football. I hadn’t wanted him to play. I had played in school and I knew how grueling practice could be. I wasn’t sure Marcus could handle it and still keep his grades up. I think that was the first time the two of us butted heads.”
After a pause he said, “Luckily he had his uncles on his side. It took my brothers to make me see that I was being unrealistic and that it wasn’t all about making good grades. Marcus had a few more years in high school to go, and kids these days need to be well-rounded and I was keeping him from being that.”
“So he started playing football?”
“Yes, and the girls started calling…and calling and calling. My phone was a regular hotline. But Ithink they annoyed him more than captivated his interest. At least until Tiffany.”
“Tiffany used to call your house all the time?” Kylie asked, somewhat surprised.
“No, and that’s what’s so strange. I can’t recall her ever calling. That’s why I was taken aback when I found that note and was stumped further when Marcus told me, in no uncertain terms, just how he felt about her. It was as if she appeared one day out of the clear blue sky.”
Kylie nodded. It was as if Marcus had appeared out of the clear blue sky as well. He’d
“Yes, but I wish you were here.”
She shook her head. “That’s not a good idea.”
“Your opinion and not mine.”
“We all have opinions.”
“Yes, and we all have the capability of getting a good night’s sleep. At least some of us do.”
She lifted her eyebrows. Was he having trouble sleeping as well? “Try counting sheep.”
“I tried that and it didn’t work. Any more suggestions?”
She pulled herself up in bed and relaxed against the huge pillow. “We could talk.”
“About what?”
“Anything you want to talk about—except what happened this afternoon.”
There was a pause, and then he said, “Okay, fair enough. I’ll let you choose the topic.”
“All right. Tell me about Marcus. Whenever I ask Tiffany about him the only words she can fix her mouth to say are, ‘Oh, he’s simply wonderful.’”
Chance chuckled. “Hey, I’m the kid’s father. Doyou expect me to admit to any of his flaws? If she thinks he’s wonderful, then who am I to disagree?”
“Be serious, Chance.”
Evidently there was something he sensed in her voice that let him know she needed to know about Marcus before actually meeting him on Sunday.
“On a scale of one to ten with ten being exceptional, I’ll give Marcus a nine. He isn’t perfect but for the past sixteen years he has been a son any father would be proud to claim. He’s smart, and he’s also sensitive, something he inherited from his mother. Cyndi was a warm, loving and sensitive person.”
The undisguised love she heard in his voice let her know that he had cared for his wife very much. “How old was Marcus when his mother died?”
“He was nine and he took her death hard. Thankfully, he had my parents, Cyndi’s parents and my brothers and cousins. Still, there were times when I worried about him. I made Cyndi a promise the day before she died that I would do everything within my power to make sure that Marcus had all the opportunities that we either didn’t have or didn’t take advantage of, especially when it came to college.”
She nodded. No wonder he was so intense about his son staying focused to get into a good university.
“Marcus knew of his mother’s dreams for him and after she died it was as if he was trying to honor her memory by doing everything that she’d wanted. He was always at the top of his class, and I never had to remind him to do homework. He tried so hard to please me because I think in his mind, pleasing me meant pleasing his mom as well.”
“And then here comes Miss Tiffany….”
Chance chuckled again and in her mind she could actually see a smile lighting up his eyes. “Ahh, yes, here comes Miss Tiffany. But before Tiffany came football. I hadn’t wanted him to play. I had played in school and I knew how grueling practice could be. I wasn’t sure Marcus could handle it and still keep his grades up. I think that was the first time the two of us butted heads.”
After a pause he said, “Luckily he had his uncles on his side. It took my brothers to make me see that I was being unrealistic and that it wasn’t all about making good grades. Marcus had a few more years in high school to go, and kids these days need to be well-rounded and I was keeping him from being that.”
“So he started playing football?”
“Yes, and the girls started calling…and calling and calling. My phone was a regular hotline. But Ithink they annoyed him more than captivated his interest. At least until Tiffany.”
“Tiffany used to call your house all the time?” Kylie asked, somewhat surprised.
“No, and that’s what’s so strange. I can’t recall her ever calling. That’s why I was taken aback when I found that note and was stumped further when Marcus told me, in no uncertain terms, just how he felt about her. It was as if she appeared one day out of the clear blue sky.”
Kylie nodded. It was as if Marcus had appeared out of the clear blue sky as well. He’d
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